1 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary • The Benjamin and Rose Berger CJF Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5774 Richard M. Joel, President and Bravmann Family University Professor, Yeshiva University Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Vice President for University and Community Life, Yeshiva University and The David Mitzner Dean, Center for the Jewish Future Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Associate Dean, Center for the Jewish Future Rabbi Robert Shur, Series Editor Rabbi Joshua Flug, General Editor Rabbi Michael Dubitsky, Editor Andrea Kahn, Copy Editor Copyright © 2014 All rights reserved by Yeshiva University Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future 500 West 185th Street, Suite 413, New York, NY 10033 • [email protected] • 212.960.5263 This publication contains words of Torah. Please treat it with appropriate respect. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Genene Kaye at 212.960.0137 or [email protected]. 2 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary • The Benjamin and Rose Berger CJF Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5774 Table of Contents Introduction Rabbi Kenneth Brander. Page 4 Pesach 2014/5774 Pesach in the Days of Chizkiyahu - the Dream and the Reality Rabbi Ezra Frazer. Page 5 “Davar Acher”: On Dual Narratives in the Haggadah Rabbi Shmuel Hain . Page 12 The Seventh Day of Pesach: Seeing the Supernatural within Everyday Nature Rabbi Yosef Kalinsky . Page 21 The Four Kosos: Songs of Silence Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger . Page 25 A Night of Questions Rabbi Zev Reichman . Page 31 Ben Neikhar and the Character of the Korban Pesach Rabbi Michael Rosensweig . Page 34 What Does This Avodah Mean to You? Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks . Page 43 Biblical Descriptions of the Exodus Collected insights from members of the Graduate Program in Biblical and Talmudic Interpretation at Stern College . Page 49 Yom Haatzmaut 2014/5774 A Complex Reality Rabbi Reuven Brand . Page 62 And to Their Seed After Them Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner . Page 69 Collected Insights on Israel from Members of the YU Torah MiTzion Community Kollelim . Page 72 3 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary • The Benjamin and Rose Berger CJF Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5774 Introduction Before Consuming Chametz [on Peasch] Recite with Proper Intent “Heavenly Father, it is apparent to You that our will is to do Your will and to celebrate Passover by eating matzah and by refraining from chametz. But on this our hearts are distressed, because the oppression prevents us [from fulfilling these commandments] and we find our lives in danger. We are ready and willing to fulfill Your mandate that we ‘live by the commandments and not die by them.’ And we are observing Your warning: ‘Protect yourself and sustain your soul greatly.’ We therefore beseech You to keep us alive, sustain us and redeem us speedily, so that we may observe your statutes, carry out Your will and serve You wholeheartedly. Amen.” This prayer was compiled by Rabbi Yissachar-Bernard Davids who, prior to World War II, served as Chief Rabbi in Rotterdam, Holland. During the war, he and his family were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. On Pesach in Bergen-Belsen, Rabbi Davids instructed his fellow prisoners to eat chametz due to the Jewish principle of pikuach nefesh—the paramount rule that preserving life takes precedence above all other commandments. During the clandestine Pesach seder held at Bergen-Belsen, the rabbi recited the regular blessings for matza, but then added the above prayer for the specific situation. I always wondered what God was doing during this seder at Bergen-Belsen. I imagine that Hakadosh Baruch-Hu was crying at the tragedy and simultaneously smiling at the holiness of this moment. Even in the most horrid of locations and in the most challenging of experiences, when everything was taken away from these Jews, this group of Pesach commemorators showed themselves to be truly free people, contributing a sense of eternality to the genetic makeup of our people. In every generation we are, as a community and as individuals, confronted with pressures and experiences that enslave us. Some are extremely challenging—like those in Bergen-Belsen—and some are not filled with as much darkness, but are perplexing nonetheless. The Pesach agenda is to remove the chametz, the obstacles, the barriers, the stagnation that hinders our engagement with a purposeful lifestyle. Bedikat chametz is about recognizing that the darkness that clouds the crevices of our existence can be minimized or even fully dissipated. That process begins with the realization that a search is required and the leavening process that occurs in our lives can be reversed. Rabbi Davids showed us that no condition can forcibly deter us from celebrating the true Pesach experience—the opportunity to lead lives as free people. May we all be blessed to engage in a Pesach experience that inspires us. I hope that this issue of Torah To Go helps to stimulate that personal journey. Wishing you a Chag Kasher V’Sameach. Kenneth Brander Vice President for University and Community Life David Mitzner Dean, Center for the Jewish Future 4 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary • The Benjamin and Rose Berger CJF Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5774 Pesach in the Days of Chizkiyahu - the Dream and the Reality Rabbi Ezra Frazer Judaic Studies Faculty, Yeshiva College Divrei HaYamim II (Chapter 30) tells the story of a major Pesach celebration in the days of King Chizkiyahu of Judah (8th century BCE).1 This essay examines the significance of that event within the broader context of Chizkiyahu’s reign. Religious and Political Background Chizkiyahu inherited the throne following the death of his father, the wicked King Achaz, who defiled the Temple, as Divrei HaYamim II (Chapter 28) describes:2 כא ִכּֽ ָי־ח ַ֤לק ָאָח ֙ז ֶא ֵ֣ת־בּית ה' ְו ֶא ֵ֥ת־בּית ,For Achaz took away a portion from the house of the Lord .21 ַה ֶ֖מּ ֶלְך ְו ַה ָשּׂ ִ֑רים ַויִּ ֵתּ ֙ן ְל ֶ֣מ ֶלְך ַא ֔שּׁוּר ְו ֹ֥לא and from the house of the king, and from the princes, and gave it ְל ֶעזְָ֖רה ֽלוֹ: כב ְוּב ֵע ֙ת ָה ֵ֣צר ֔לוֹ ַו ֖יּ ֶוֹסף to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him. 22. And in the ִל ְמ ֣עוֹל ַבּֽה' ֖הוּא ַה ֶ֥מּ ֶלְך ָאָחֽז... time of his distress he trespassed still more against the Lord; this כד ַו ֶיּ ֽ ֱא ֨ס ֹף ֜ ָאָחז ֶא ְת־כּ ֵ֣לי ֵבֽ ָית־הֽ ֱא ֗ ִֹלקים is that king Achaz… 24. And Achaz gathered together the ַויְ ַק ֵצּ ֙ץ ֶא ְת־כּ ֵ֣לי ֵבֽ ָית־הֽ ֱא ֔ ִֹלקים ַויִּ ְס ֖גּ ֹר utensils of the house of God, and cut in pieces the utensils of the ֶא ַת־דּ ְל ֣תוֹת ֵבּֽית־ה' ַו ֨יַּ ַעשׂ ֧לוֹ ִמזְ ְבּ ֛חוֹת house of God, and shut the doors of the house of the Lord, and he ְבּ ָכ ִל־פּ ָ֖נּה ִבּ ֽיר ָוּשׁ ָלֽם: כה ְוּב ָכ ֨ ִל־עיר ָו ִ֤עיר ִלֽ ָיהוּד ֙ה ָע ָ֣שׂה ָב ֔מוֹת ְל ַק ֵ֖טּר made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25. And in ֵלֽ ִ֣אֹלהים ֲא ֵח ִ֑רים ַויַּ ְכ ֕ ֵעס ֶאת־ה' ֱא ֵֹ֥לקי every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other ֲאב ָֹתֽיו: .gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers Chizkiyahu opened his reign by immediately reversing his father’s sinful policies. According to Divrei HaYamim (II Chapter 29), he summoned the Kohanim (Priests) and Levites as soon as he ascended the throne, and he ordered them to rectify his father’s behavior toward the Temple: ג ֣הוּא ַב ָשּׁנָ ֩ה ָה ִ ֽר ֨אשׁוֹנָה ְל ָמ ְל ֜כוֹ ַבּ ֣ח ֹ ֶדשׁ ,Chizkiyahu], in the first year of his reign, in the first month] .3 1Shortly after King Shlomo’s death (approximately 200 years before Chizkiyahu’s reign), his kingdom split in two: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The kings of Judah descended from David and Shlomo and maintained Jerusalem as their capital city. 2 Translations of the Bible in this essay were copied from Davkawriter (Version 6.6.3) with minor changes. 5 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary • The Benjamin and Rose Berger CJF Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5774 ָה ֽ ִר ֗אשׁוֹן ָפּ ַ֛תח ֶא ַת־דּ ְל ֥תוֹת ֵבּֽית־ה' .opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them. 4 ַויְ ַחזְֵּ ֽקם: ד ַויָּ ֵ֥בא ֶא ַת־ה ֽכּ ֹ ֲה ִ֖נים And he brought in the Kohanim and the Levites, and gathered ְו ֶא ַת־הֽ ְל ִו ִיּ֑ם ַו ַיּ ֽ ְאַס ֵ֖פם ִל ְר ֥חוֹב ַה ִמּזְָ ֽרח: them together into the east street, 5. And he said to them, “Hear ה ַו ֥יּ ֹ ֶאמר ָל ֶ֖הם ְשׁ ָמ ֣עוּנִי ַהֽ ְל ִו ִיּ֑ם ַע ָ֣תּה me, you Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house ִהֽ ְת ַק ְדּ ֗שׁוּ ְו ַק ְדּ ֙שׁוּ ֶא ֵ֤ת־בּית ה' ֱא ֵֹ֣לקי of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the ֲא ֽב ֹ ֵת ֔ ֶיכם ְו ִ֥הוֹציאוּ ֶא ַת־ה נִּ ָ֖דּה ִמ ַן־ה ֽקּ ֹ ֶדשׁ: holy place. 6. For our fathers have trespassed, and done that ו ִכּ ָי־מֽ ֲע ֣לוּ ֲאב ֹ֗ ֵתינוּ ְו ָע ֥שׂוּ ָהַ֛רע ְבּ ֵע ֵינ֥י which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have ה' ֱ־א ֵֹ֖לקינוּ ַו ַיּ ֽ ַעזְ ֻ֑בהוּ ַויַּ ֵ֧סּבּוּ ְפנֵ ֶ֛יהם ִמ ִמּ ְשׁ ַ֥כּן ה' ַויִּ ְתּ ֽנוּ־ע ֶֹרף: forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.